OVERVIEW: Czechia at the Paris 2024 Olympics – where, how, and who to watch

ONES TO WATCH Key athletes to watch among the 113 set to compete in the games include javelin thrower Jakub Vadlejch, canoeist Martin Fuksa, judoka Lukáš Krpálek, and tennis stars Barbora Krejčíková and Kateřina Siniaková, who recently boosted expectations by winning titles at Wimbledon. At just 19 years old, Ostrava-born and Tábor-raised Lourdes Gloria Manuel is competing in her first Olympic Games; she qualified after lowering her own national under-20 record in May of this year, running 50.59 for the 400 meters at the Ostrava Golden Spike event.

This year, Czech fashion has already made waves, having been named among the seven best countries in the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) selection of the “most interesting” fashion collections for the Paris Olympics. The Czech collection caught the eye of the IOC's 8.2 million Instagram followers. Jan Černý the designer behind the collection, described the most striking element as a coat that combines a Czech-style raincoat with the famous French trench coat. He called it “brutally special.”

A SPECIAL SCULPTURE A new stainless steel statue commemorating seven-time Olympic champion Věra Čáslavská will be unveiled at the Czech House in Paris for the Olympics. Designed by David Černý, the 7.5-ton, 9-meter-tall sculpture celebrates Čáslavská’s legacy and features intricate movement technology. Černý’s collaboration with the Czech Olympic Committee began in 2012, featuring the Clicking Bus at the London Olympics and Zátopek’s Foot in 2016, connecting Rio with fans in Prague and Lipno.

WHERE TO WATCH IN PRAGUE The open-air pub and beer garden at Riegrovy Sady near the center of Prague will televise the Olympics every day of the action on its big screen. Entry is completely free. Reservations are possible, though not mandatory. Manifesto Market in Anděl will broadcast the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics, complete with ping pong, beer pong, and more games. Reservations are recommended. Further afoot, the expansive Prague 15 brewery Pivovar Hostivař will show selected Olympics broadcasts on the big screen in its garden. Entry is free, and reservations are not possible.